Improved Implements and Agricultural
Practices for Inclusive Growth of Farmers
in Dryland: Opportunities and Challenges
By
Ravikant V. Adake
Senior Scientist (Farm Machinery)
Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture,
Santoshnagar, Hyderabad-500 059
Present Issues in Dryland
Agriculture
• Difficulty in managing the small farms
• Reduction in Bullock Power and increase in
tractor hiring costs
• Non Availability of labour for precision
operations like sowing and harvesting etc
• Poor soil conditions because of lack of interest
from the farmers on soil improvement
activities
• Uneven rainfall
Districts in India
300
272
250
200
172
150
100
50
40
33
0
Excess
Scanty
Normal
Difficient
Rainfall Distribution Pattern
Source, IMD, 2008
Soil crusting is major problem
under dryland
Challenges
• Though much emphasis is given for small farm
mechanization, the results are not up to the
mark due to non profitability.
• Small land holdings and high initial/rental cost
of large machinery discourages the small and
medium farmers to opt for it.
• Timely availability of the machinery is a big
question mark
Challenges
• No industry support for Precision and quality
machinery for small farms
• More number of fabricating industries with least
standards
• Maintenance Problems with self propelled
machinery
• Drastic reduction in Bullock population year by
year
• Missing link-Training on supplied machinery to
the farmers
Opportunities for Dryland
Mechanization
 Enhanced farm power supply
Increased farm power availability from 0.25 kW/ha
(1951) to 1.68 kW/ha (2011)
Increased growth of tractors
from 2.47 lakh (2004-05) to 6.07 lakh (2011-12)
Increased growth of power tillers
From 175000 (2004-05) to 60000 (2011-12)
CRIDA experience on farm
mechanization
• Methodology adopted:
• 1. Designing the location specific Farm
machinery at Research workshop.
• 2. Testing in the farmer’s field and refinement
on farmer’s feed back
• 3. Publicity through Kisan mela and
participation in exhibitions
• 4. Finding industry partner for production and
sale
CRIDA experience on farm
mechanization
Number of Improved Machinery Developed
By CRIDA: 23
MoU Signed with Industries for Mass
Production:22
Conventional methods of Sowing
Uneven distribution of
seeds and fertilizer
Higher wages
Poor efficiency
Bullock power dependent
CRIDA Bullock Drawn Planters
3 row planter
2 row planter
Useful for small and medium holding
farmers
Savings in seed and fertilizer
Saving in wages
4 row planter
CRIDA Tractor Drawn Planters for
timely sowing
6- row planter
9-row planter
Useful for different cropping system
Large area coverage (10-15 ha/day) for timely sowing
 Maintains plant spacing
Metering Plates for Different Crops
Sr. No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Crops
Soybean
Redgram
Bengal gram (N)
Bengal gram
(Kabuli)
Jawar, Bajra, Green
gram, Blackgram
Maize
Groundnut
(Medium)
Ground nut (Bold)
Onion
Spare part
No
SP1
SP2
SP3
No of cells
on metering
Plate
23
12
12
plant to plant
distance , cm
5
10
10
SP4
SP5
16
12
8
10
SP6
4,5,6,7,8
15-30
SP7
SP8
SP9
12
16
24
10
7.5
5
Tractor drawn BBF Planter
Major Components:
Planter with seed and
fertilizer box
Furrow openers (2)
Tynes (4)
Supporting wheels (2)
Drive Wheel
Transmission
Mechanism
Tractor required 35 hp
Overall Dimension mm: L-2250, W-1133mm, H- 868 mm
Frame Dimensions mm: L-2250mm, W-480mm
Weight, Kg: 285
BBF Planter in Operation
BBF Planter Utility:
To conserve rain
water and minimize
effect of drought
To drain the water
in case of excess
rainfall
Useful for all
dryland crops
 Area coverage, 6-8
ha/day
Double furrow multicrop planter developed for Redgram-soybean
Cropping system (Developed based on farmer’s request-location
specific) cum BBF planter for improved water conservation
CRIDA Paired Row cum
BBF Planter
6
0
c
m
6
0
c
m
* *
* *
* *
* *
**
60
c
m
60
c
m
120
cm
120
cm
**
In situ water conservation
Pigeon pea
Runoff ,mm
Conventional
64
Conventional+
Intercrop
Paired row with
furrow
Paired row with
furrow+ Intercrop
Pigeon pea system
Pigeon pea Equi.
yields Kg/ha
Conventional
1900
Conventional+
Intercrop
1700
6.2
Paired row with furrow
2200
4.4
Paired row with
furrow+ Intercrop
2270
52
Improved Machinery for Crop
Residue Management
Soil moisture, % v
18
15
12
9
6
3
0
CT
RT
RNT SNT
Improved Machinery for Crop
Residue Management
Incorporation efficiency:78%
Chopping efficiency:70%
Rotor speed: 3.6 m/s
CRIDA Precision planter cum herbicide
applicator for conservation agriculture
•It can do three operations at a time viz.,
seed sowing, fertilizer application and
herbicide spraying.
• It can work well in two way sloppy lands
because of individually operated spring
loaded tines.
• Separate seed and fertilizer boxes are
available for inter-cropping.
• Separate seed metering plates are
available for different crops.
• Field coverage about 0.48 hectare/ hour.
• The cost of operation Rs.1250/- per
hectare.
Performance of Precision planter
Deviation from recommended
plant depth, cm
2
1
Conventional planter, Sd= 1.61
Precision planter, Sd=0.79
0
-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
-2
-3
-4
-5
Number of subsequent maize seed
9
10
Improved Orchard Sprayer
Air carries the atomized fine spray deep in canopy,
Saving in chemical spray (48%), cost of operation (55%)timely
spray,
Development of small
harvesters for dryland crops
Newly designed single row self propelled Harvester in action
6.5 h.p. petrol engine with 45 cm cutting Row space with
horizontal disc blade
Newly developed mini tractor
mounted harvester
Prototype is
Ready for
commercialization
Custom Hiring Center: A strategy for
promotion of Improved Implements
Established in 100 KVK villages under National
Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture
Operated by Village Climate Risk Management
Committee
There are 27 different types of farm machinery
stocked in 100 CHC
Each Centre was established at a capital cost of Rs
6.25 Lakh funded by NICRA Project
Monitoring and Technical Back-up
Revenue generated from CHC
Zone
KVKs
(Number)
Revenue (Rs)
I
II
III
IV
12
15
17
13
164540
284822
341955
94158
V
VI
VII
13
7
14
332124
519605
437986
VIII
Total
9
100
422648
2597838
Impact of CHC
Demonstration of In-situ conservation of soil and water sowing
across the slop in 10 ha area covering 25 farmers resulted in 1113% in soybean yield (Nandurbar, MS)
Use of BBF planter for soybean crop avoided damage to the
crop due to excess rainfall in kharif, 2013 and realized about 40%
more yield compared conventional sowing (Datia, MP)
Demonstration of zero till after harvest of rice in 25 ha covering
105 farmers, zero tillage saved cost of field preparation and
increased 15% grain yield (Aurangabad, Bihar)
Furrow irrigated raised bed system for wheat cultivation was
promoted to enhance crop yield (10-15%) in 40 farmers field. It
saved 25% seed, and 30% irrigation water (Kota, Rajasthan)
Way Forward
Use of improved farm implements and
agricultural practices can enhance inclusive
growth of farmers in dryland through increased
crop yield and reduced cost of operation and
custom hiring service makes the implements
accessible to the farmers at affordable rental
price
Thank you